Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa to eliminate single-use plastics in SIMs and recharge cards

Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa has pledged to eliminate its operational carbon footprint and remove single use plastic from SIM and recharge cards by the end of 2021.

Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa has committed to become fully carbon neutral across its own operations through a series of initiatives designed to eliminate and balance carbon emissions across its corporate and customer footprint. To achieve its goal, it has partnered with Dubai Carbon Center of Excellence and reviewed its carbon usage practices across the business. Its primary focus will be on implementing organisational processes to directly reduce the carbon footprint. Any remaining footprint that cannot be directly reduced will then be offset via GCC green investment projects specific to each market, and through internationally recognised reforestation projects.

The company is also auditing vendors and supply chain for compliance with fair trade manufacturing and ethical practices. The telecom company will also work with its customers to encourage them to participate in its sustainability efforts to offset carbon.

In a statement, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa said that since 2017 it has already eliminated over 50 tonnes of single use plastic across its operations in the Middle East.

It has engaged with its SIM provider Workz Group and investigated options to reduce single-use plastic, particularly in SIM packs and recharge cards. Operations in Oman and Saudi Arabia have already achieved 100 per cent single-use plastic free status, with an aim to achieve the same goal in the UAE by the end of 2021.

“Reducing the negative impacts of our operations on society and the environment and providing the foundation to embed sustainable habits in everything we do is at the heart of the Virgin brand, and we look forward to more exciting announcements in this space to come throughout 2021”, said Erik Dudman Nielsen, founder and group CEO at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa.

Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa is serving around 3 million customers across the region, operating across GCC markets such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and providing advisory services to Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) in the UAE.

In April, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa announced its intent to launch in Kuwait. It followed the successful application for a business licence via a partnership with Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc) to enable its operations, and secure debt and equity funding for the expansion.

Read: Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa to launch operations in Kuwait